Reflection #3
11.07.2025
: “ Always put yourself in others’ shoes.”
When I first found out that Week 9 would be online, I was like, “Yeah! No class!” But when I opened the Week 9 module on Canvas and saw the ten-step instructions and the required synchronous group work, I thought, “No way, I’d rather take it in person.” Despite that emotional rollercoaster, the overall learning experience was actually very good. I spent more time on the class than I usually do, and because I had individual work to complete, I struggled more with the content—which I think deepened my understanding of the material. Since everyone in my group agreed that online meetings weren’t efficient, we decided to meet in person to finish our group work together. Spending at least an hour working on campus made us all wish the whole section could be completed in one day like before.
After reflecting, I realized the purpose of making Week 9 an online module was to let us experience learning theories through an online class format—to feel what it’s like from the learner’s perspective. This helped me better understand the design decisions Bill made and resonate with them more deeply. If I had only read the online section’s instructions, I would have thought it was well designed and enjoyable for learners. But actually experiencing it showed me how the design doesn’t always translate as smoothly as expected, especially with the challenges of organizing synchronous group sessions. I used to complain about Harmony, thinking it wasn’t effective, and often skipped it because I didn’t feel connected to my peers. Now, I see it’s actually a reasonable technology to support online group discussions.
Connecting this experience to the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, I became more aware of how teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence interact to shape online learning. While the instructional design was strong, the lack of real-time connection weakened social presence, which in turn made group collaboration feel less engaging. Experiencing that gap firsthand helped me see how crucial it is to balance all three elements in designing meaningful online environments.
Even though I often return to the idea of user-centered design and the importance of building empathy when designing for or with our audience, I feel it’s worth emphasizing again. This time, by actually participating as a learner, I developed a deeper sense of compassion and understanding. The experience gave me valuable insight into how online learning truly feels from a user’s perspective, directly shaping how I approached our group’s How People Learn class design for parents. It reminded me to prioritize accessibility, flexibility, and emotional connection in digital environments—ensuring that even when learning takes place online, parents still feel supported, engaged, and connected to others.